Balancing Personal and Professional with a Flexible Plan
CRE EXECUTIVE
The Client’s Situation
As a commercial real estate executive in his early 40s, Brian has built a path for a very successful career and consistently brings in over $1,000,000 in revenue, but he was struggling with the time commitment it took to manage his finances, make time for his family, travel, and pursue other interests.
Brian and his wife had been using a financial advisor who works for a large institution for a number of years, but recognized that he hadn’t done much financial planning for them. Instead, he had been acting just as an investment manager.
How We Stepped In
Brian and his wife were ready to be more proactive with their finances, and we got to know them and helped organize and build an investment plan tailored to their specific needs.
In addition to gathering their financial data, we sent them our financial satisfaction survey so that we could better understand their levels of satisfaction in various areas of their financial life. The questions ranged from traditional topics such as savings, investments, and insurance, to how they communicate about their finances and whether it caused stress in their lives. We had a few conversations about how these answers shape their financial perspectives and began to build a plan around what was most important to them and their family.
Brian wasn’t sure if his income and investments were formulated in a tax-friendly way, so we took a look at all of his tax documents to gain a better understanding of how his income was structured. Brian was especially concerned that their current investments were too conservative and not built for long-term growth, as he knew that they may need the money to last for 30 years or longer in retirement. We discussed their desire to start to slow things down once their kids were in high school and the importance of having their savings and investments structured in a way that could support that.
Achieving the Client’s Objectives
Brian and his wife were having trouble picturing exactly what their retirement would look like, which is not uncommon. We helped them create a vision of their ideal future as well as committed to coaching them through the next ten years and into retirement so that they were more at ease with where they stood financially.
It was important to us that their finances become a tool to enjoy the things that bring them happiness, rather than a burden they consistently worry about. So, we structured Brian’s income in a way that would allow them to continue to do the things they love right now. At the same time, we set up investments, 401k plans, and cash balance plans to defer enough income to allow them to continue their lifestyle throughout retirement and set up their children and grandchildren for college and other endeavors that they may want to pursue.
We worked closely with their accountant and estate planning attorney so that they understood what the family goals were and how we wanted to structure their finances to achieve them.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION
See How Our Experience Can Help You
We understand the unique financial complexities and opportunities that commercial real estate executives face. Get to know us and share more about your goals so we can help you solidify a personal financial journey.